• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.11a
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• pp.523-524
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• 2007

This paper discusses the planarization process of thick copper film structure used for power supply device. Chemical mechanical polishing(CMP) has been used to remove a metal film and obtain a surface planarization which is essential for the semiconductor devices. For the thick metal removal, however, the long process time and other problems such as dishing, delamination and metal layer peeling are being issued, Compared to the traditional CMP process, Electro-chemical mechanical planarization(ECMP) is suggested to solve these problems. The two-step process composed of the ECMP and the conventional CMP is used for this experiment. The first step is the removal of several tens ${\mu}m$ of bulk copper on patterned wafer with ECMP process. The second step is the removal of residual copper layer aimed at a surface planarization. For more objective comparison, the traditional CMP was also performed. As an experimental result, total process time and process defects are extremely reduced by the two-step process.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2005.07a
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• pp.649-650
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• 2005

반도체는 고집적화, 고속도화, 저전력화를 목적으로 발전하고 있다. 이를 위하여 design rule의 감소, 새로운 물질과 프로세스의 적용 등 많은 연구가 이루어지고 있으며, RC delay time을 줄이기 위한 Cu 와 저유전율 재료의 적용이 그 대표적인 예라 할 수 있다. Cu 배선은 기존의 Al 배선에 비하여 높은 전자이동 (electro-migration)과 응력 이동 (stress-migration) 저항을 가짐으로써 전기적인 성능 (electrical performance) 에서 이점을 가지고 있다. 반도체에서의 Cu 배선 구조는 평탄화된 표면 및 배선들 사이에서의 좋은 전기적인 절연성을 가져야 하며, 이는 디싱(dishing)과 에로젼(erosion)의 중요한 인자가 된다. 기존의 평탄화 공정인 Cu CMP(Chemical Mechanical Polishing)에 있어서 이러한 디싱, 에로전과 같은 결함은 선결되어져야 할 문제로 인식되고 있다. 따라서 본 연구에서는 이러한 결합들을 감소시키기 위한 새로운 평탄화 방법으로 Cu gap-filling 을 하는 동시에 평탄화된 표면을 이루는 ECMD(Electro-Chemical Mechanical Deposition) 공정의 전기적 기계적 특성을 파악하였다.

• Proceedings of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers Conference
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• 2007.06a
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• pp.79-80
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• 2007

Copper has been used as an interconnect material in the fabrication of semiconductor devices, because of its higher electrical conductivity and superior electro-migration resistance. Chemical mechanical polishing (CMP) technique is required to planarize the overburden Cu film in an interconnect process. Various problems such as dishing, erosion, and delamination are caused by the high pressure and chemical effects in the Cu CMP process. But these problems have to be solved for the fabrication of the next generation semiconductor devices. Therefore, new process which is electro-chemical mechanical planarization/polishing (ECMP) or electro-chemical mechanical planarization was introduced to solve the. technical difficulties and problems in CMP process. In the ECMP process, Cu ions are dissolved electrochemically by the applying an anodic potential energy on the Cu surface in an electrolyte. And then, Cu complex layer are mechanically removed by the mechanical effects between pad and abrasive. This paper focuses on the manufacturing of ECMP system and its process. ECMP equipment which has better performance and stability was manufactured for the planarization process.

• Journal of the Korean Institute of Electrical and Electronic Material Engineers
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• v.24 no.1
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• pp.17-21
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• 2011

Copper (Cu) had been attractive material due to its superior properties comparing to other metals such as aluminum or tungsten and considered as the best metal which can replace them as an interconnect metal in integrated circuits. CMP (Chemical Mechanical Polishing) technology enabled the production of excellent local and global planarization of microelectronic materials, which allow high resolution of photolithography process. Cu CMP is a complex removal process performed by chemical reaction and mechanical abrasion, which can make defects of its own such as a scratch, particle and dishing. The abrasive particles remain on the Cu surface, and become contaminations to make device yield and performance deteriorate. To remove the particle, buffing cleaning method used in post-CMP cleaning and buffing is the one of the most effective physical cleaning process. AE(Acoustic Emission) sensor was used to detect dynamic friction during the buffing process. When polishing is started, the sensor starts to be loaded and produces an electrical charge that is directly proportional to the applied force. Cleaning efficiency of Cu surface were measured by FE-SEM and AFM during the buffing process. The experimental result showed that particles removed with buffing process, it is possible to detect the particle removal efficiency through obtained signal by the AE sensor.